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Teru Miyamoto

みやもと てる

Miyamoto Teru

Pen Names: Teru Miyamoto（Pen name used as author name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947-03-06 （Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan）
Died
null
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan → Ehime Prefecture, Japan → Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Toyama Prefecture, Japan → Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist, Copywriter
Active Years
1977-
Affiliations
Sankei Advertising (former employer), Akutagawa Prize selection committee member (1996–2020)
Memberships
Akutagawa Prize selection committee member (1996–2020)
Influenced By

Education

Kansai Okura High School
General Course
Period: 1962-1965
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: Japan
Otemon Gakuin University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 1966-1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: Japan
Founding cohort member (first cohort)

Awards

Dazai Osamu Prize
1977
Work: Mud River
Result: 受賞
Akutagawa Prize
1978
Work: Hotarugawa (River of Fireflies)
Result: 受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1987
Work: Yūshun
Result: 受賞
JRA Equine Culture Award
1987
Work: Yūshun
Organization: Japan Racing Association
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize (MEXT Award, Literature Division)
2004
Work: Yakusoku no Fuyu (Promise of Winter)
Result: 受賞
Shiba Ryōtarō Prize
2009
Work: The Garden of the Skeleton Building
Result: 受賞
Order of the Purple Ribbon
2010
Result: 受章
Mainichi Art Award
2019
Work: Ryūten no Umi
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2020
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mud River

1977 Novel

An autobiographical novel based on the author's childhood and the lives of ordinary people in postwar Osaka. It lyrically depicts poverty and family bonds. Miyamoto's debut.

postwar Japanpovertyfamilynostalgia
Adaptations
  • [Film] Mud River (1981)

Hotarugawa (River of Fireflies)

1977 Novel

A family and youth novel set in the postwar period. Winner of the Akutagawa Prize; it lyrically treats themes of fate and life and death.

youthfatelife and death
Adaptations
  • [Film] Hotarugawa (1987)

Kinshu (Autumn Brocade)

1982 Novel (includes epistolary elements)

A work that includes epistolary elements. It presents layered human dramas and a sense of nostalgia.

human relationshipsnostalgiatradition and modernity
Adaptations
  • [Stage] Kinshu (stage) / ジョン・ケアード (John Caird) (2007)
Translations
  • English translation 'Kinshu: Autumn Brocade' (trans. Roger K. Thomas, 2007)

Ryūten no Umi (Sea of Wandering)

1984 Epic saga / long-form novel

A long-running autobiographical epic, chronicling family history and societal changes across decades. One of the author's major works.

family historyhistorygrowthmigration
Adaptations
  • [Film] Ryūten no Umi (1990)

Yūshun

1986 Novel

A novel centered on horse racing that explores human fate and passion. It received critical acclaim and the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize.

horse racingfatepassion
Adaptations
  • [Film] Yūshun: ORACION (1988)

Comet Story

1992 Novel

Part of works that feature travel and encounters abroad. Some parts were adapted for television and other media.

travelencountersforeign lands
Adaptations
  • [TV Drama] Comet Story (TV adaptation) (2007)

潮音 (Choon / Tide Sound)

2025 Novel

A novel published in 2025 (volumes 1–4). A recent work showing the author's mature lyrical style.

searecollectionlate-life perspective

Bibliography

  • Hotarugawa (River of Fireflies)
  • Mud River
  • Phantom Lights
  • Kinshu (Autumn Brocade)
  • Ryūten no Umi (Sea of Wandering)
  • Yūshun
  • Comet Story
  • Blue Scattered
  • Spring Dream
  • Cats of the Summer Resort
  • The Danube Traveler
  • The People of Dream Street
  • Afternoon When Flowers Fall
  • The Seaside Door
  • Scent of the Chest
  • Echoes from the Lighthouse
  • Thirty Light-Years of Stars
  • Spring in the Fields

Adaptations

  • Film adaptations (Mud River, Dōtonbori River, Hotarugawa, Ryūten no Umi, etc.)
  • TV drama adaptations (Dōtonbori River, Blue Scattered, Comet Story, etc.)
  • Stage adaptations (Kinshu, The Garden of the Skeleton Building, etc.)

Translations of Works

  • Kinshu → 'Kinshu: Autumn Brocade' (English, trans. Roger K. Thomas, 2007)
  • Phantom Lights → 'Phantom Lights and Other Stories' (English, trans. Roger K. Thomas & Juliet Winters Carpenter, 2011)
  • The People of Dream Street → French translation 'Les Gens de la Rue des Reves'
  • Kinshu → French translation 'Le Brocart'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and emotionally rich prosecareful, intimate exploration of characters' inner lives
Recurring Motifs
riversseafamilynostalgiajourney

Health

  • Anxiety neurosis (contemporary: panic disorder)
    20代半ば頃から
    Caused significant anxiety during corporate life, leading him to resign and turn to writing.
  • Tuberculosis
    一時期（療養あり）
    Took a leave from writing for treatment, which interrupted his literary activity for a period.

Legacy

With a lyrical style depicting postwar ordinary life and long autobiographical sagas, he secured a wide readership. Through numerous awards and many film, television, and stage adaptations, he has left a significant mark on contemporary Japanese literature.

Museums

  • Teru Miyamoto Museum Otemon Gakuin University Library (Osaka, Japan)

Archives

  • Otemon Gakuin University Library — Teru Miyamoto Collection

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous film, television, and stage adaptations
  • Introduced to international readers through translations

Quotes

  • A professional should write entertaining novels.
    Source: Profile (Wikipedia summary)

Trivia

  • Real name: Masahito Miyamoto.
  • Founding cohort member of Otemon Gakuin University's Faculty of Letters (entered 1966).
  • Debuted in 1977 by winning the 13th Dazai Osamu Prize for 'Mud River'.
  • Won the Akutagawa Prize in 1978 for 'Hotarugawa'.
  • Served on the Akutagawa Prize selection committee from 1996 to 2020.
  • 'Ryūten no Umi' is a long-running serial epic and one of his major works.
  • Received the Order of the Purple Ribbon (2010) and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (2020).